


two poems about a bath

by okapi



Category: Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: M/M, Poetry, Turkish Bath, Wits On Tap Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-10
Updated: 2018-05-10
Packaged: 2019-05-04 23:29:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14604087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/okapi/pseuds/okapi
Summary: For the 2018 Wits on Tap Challenge [No-strings option].Poetry remixes oftweedisgood'sHead of SteamandBenefits of the Turkish Bath.ACD Holmes/Watson. Turkish bath. Ruba'iyat and jue ju.





	two poems about a bath

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tweedisgood](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tweedisgood/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Head of Steam](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1154565) by [tweedisgood](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tweedisgood/pseuds/tweedisgood). 
  * Inspired by [Benefits of the Turkish Bath](https://archiveofourown.org/works/131341) by [tweedisgood](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tweedisgood/pseuds/tweedisgood). 



suggestion whispered in breached lover’s ear

a bath of rare, enlightened atmosphere

‘ _honi soit qui mal y pense’_ i tease but

observed the subtle differences appear

 

discretely-clustered rooms like bee-hive cells

attendants wait without while within dwells

the not-to-be-disturbed. the sweet-ice melts

whilst knock fresh beauties of the dardanelles

 

the best hashish west of the Bosphorus

lends oft the luster glow of phosphorus

to blithe mosaic dreams of gods at play

and winged fantasies lepidopterous

 

proclivities in wild plurality

an education in carnality

a drape of angle sixty-nine degrees

denotes a certain partiality

 

a sailor’s roll reveals his tide’s ebb, flow

his stride denotes how traded winds blow

so much from oh so little, as it were

complaint? oh no. then pawky jests, please, stow.

 

a hearty stoking twice or thrice a week

maintains a robust furnace at its peak

a dripping honeyed hearth’s an ask away

a warm salute for any heat you seek.

 

the mysteries of lust, well-clothed in sweat,

the mysteries of love, _sans_ shame, regret

that day’s own recognition _a deux_

became night’s appetites well-whet.

 

a pleasure, a peace, a sun-lit visage fine

contorted, as in pain, of lover mine

a worship seared, a lathered ride, a sleep

then wake to thirst anew for lover’s wine

 

a tipple, please, a taste of briny teem,   

engorgement’s pink and perspiration’s gleam

a chamber’s free, you say? then why don’t we…?

agreed. we’ve worked up quite a head of steam

* * *

my temperature rises as

your glare of outrage deflects

heated stare of inquiry

exit to caldarium

 

passion heated past simmer

to boil leaks from every pore

rises pressed to skin’s surface

condenses to briny drips

 

caged breaths above cold waters

a moment’s hesitation

release, relief desired, feared

fingers twined yes? now. plunge! ah!

**Author's Note:**

> The first poem is a [ruba'iyat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruba%CA%BFi) inspired by Head of Steam and the second is a [jue ju](http://poetscollective.org/poetryforms/jue-ju/%22) inspired by Benefits of the Turkish Bath.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
